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Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)

I think I've understood this scripture better after having worked at the
church’s cannery doing dry canning.

One of the things important to learn while canning is how to
get as much food into the can as possible.Just pouring in the macaroni or the beans or the potato
flakes isn’t going to cut it because the particles eventually settle together
in a tighter configuration much later after the lid is sealed on.Settling happens even with powders
like sugar or flour. (Maybe you’ve had the experience of opening a food storage
can and finding an inch of space between the top of the can and the level of
the food.)

In order to get as much in as possible, you fill it as full
as you can, then you shake the can a bit, you bang the bottom on the table
gently, and you spin it in your hands, --“pressed down, and shaken together”—and
lo!It settles and there is more
room!So you add more and shake
and bang some more and add more until you can’t fit more in.(You gotta be able to seal the lid on
too!)You want to make sure that
whoever gets the cans you packed gets their money’s worth…because you might end up with it!

I don’t think that Jesus had canning specifically in mind
when He spoke those words, but He lived in a time when life staples would be
measured out by volume, and how much a measure held was dependent upon how hard
the measurer tried to fit it in.

The promise that goes with this command to give generously
is that the same measure will be meted back to us.We don’t know how this happens; it is something we have to
take on faith that the same charity in our hearts that prompted us to give
generously can be activated in others’ hearts to give generously to us.I’ve experienced this myself, and it
was the sort of blessing that it takes a while to notice; it can come from
unexpected directions and there’s a bit of a delay… But if you give
consistently enough, you start to figure it out.

5
comments:

So true. One of my goals is to check my motivations when I'm doing something to see if I'm trying to fit every possible bit of good I can into that thing. I often find that I'm scooping out my obligation quickly. I sure do appreciate when God takes the time to shake and bang and add. And he always does.

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About Me

Michaela Stephens

Arizona, United States

I'm a happily married 32-year old who switched from Electronic Engineering Technology to Literature, Writing, and Film.
I worked for 3 years at ASU as a writing tutor and have over 400 sessions worth of experience helping people with their writing.
I'm the oldest of seven children (5 boys, 2 girls)
I'm a bit of a neat freak and an undeniable bookworm.

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